Cia Cia La Pirata

05/29/2025

This Thursday night at Midnight (5/29) on KALX I'm hosting "Why Baby Why" again! Americana/Blues/Folk/Roots/Country/Western... Some new tunes, some kinda old... Some from the USA, some from international locales. Come on in, the water's fine!
90.7 FM / kalx.berkeley.edu

05/01/2025

I'm hosting the Why Baby Why show again this Thursday (May 1st) at Midnight on KALX radio! We've managed to make it to the month of May, and that's influencing my song-picks.
Springtime, May Day and Cinco de Mayo... it's all represented. It'll be 1 hour of musicalities spanning many subgenres of Americana [sometimes loosely interpreted] including 70's-style H***y Tonk, cheery Western Swing, rootsy Country Rock, Ballad, bouncy 1950's Blues, sing-along Anthem, Folk protest, etc.
There *will* be dobro, harmonica, and yodeling... not all at once.
90.7 fm / kalx.berkeley.edu

04/19/2025

Sometimes… opportunities will knock.
Ways to get involved - to offer meaningful help - present themselves. Ways to assist a friend or a stranger in need… to uplift a cause… to support a beloved and important radio station.

The KALX 2025 Spring Fundraiser is happening now.
https://crowdfund.berkeley.edu/project/46398

Deep down, you know how important college/community noncommercial radio is (especially in this crazy mixed-up world we‘re living in these days). Here’s an opportunity to *do good*.
📻
Donating a buck or two to 90.7 fm KALX Berkeley makes a real difference.
It gives students life-enhancing ‘soft skills’ that‘ll help ’em every day of their lives. It soothes daily stress, it motivates listeners to keep going, it gives hope, it informs, and it adds color to every day.
KALX *does good*.

KALX is with you day & night, keeping you company, spreading awareness about local music artists, teaching volunteers how to do very cool things, and lets you hear the passion & ‘human element’ of truly people-made radio.
It gives you (yeah, you!) so many opportunities too. You can call 510-642-5259 to talk to the DJs, make an old-fashioned “request”, and to win passes to cultural events at venues all over the Bay Area, too. Only this kind of special, unpretentious, personal, Real Radio gives you this.

That buck or two enables freeform noncommercial radio to beam out to a world that desperately needs it. Especially now.

Donate if you can, and please tell a friend too.
👉🏽 This Saturday & Sunday, we have live pledge-takers all day long (if you want to CALL to donate), but you can simply give online if you’re feeling shy (or if you have laryngitis).

Thanks so much for your help!
Every single dollar makes a difference and *does good*.

Help UC Berkeley reach 1,000 Donors for the project: KALX 2025 FundRaiser. A donation of any amount can make a difference!

02/05/2025

KALX’s Design Contest is going on throughout February!
Have you been contemplating lofty creative concepts, doodling endearing napkin sketches, or thinking up cool images that you think would look sweet on the next KALX shirt or sticker?
Well, get on it!
Want The deets? Visit kalx.berkeley.edu where you’ll find everything you need to know.
(Management says the deadline is not going to get extended, so DO IT NOW.) Thanks immensely!

Everything you need to know about the 2025 Design Contest https://kalx.berkeley.edu/2025-kalx-design-contest/

01/10/2025

My concerns & deep empathy go out to my SoCal friends, family, and everyone who's been touched in some way by these devastating, ongoing fires.
I personally know people who've lost homes.
Monday night (when I recorded this Why Baby Why) the fires hadn't started yet.
My mind was on President Carter as I planned this episode. There's a tribute set for him, plus lots of music that hopefully will bring an hour of joy to anyone who could use it during these difficult days.

12/27/2024

It’s true! I’m hosting the KALX Live! 2024 RetroSpectacular Extravaganza again this year… Saturday December 28th from 9PM to Midnight. I’m really looking forward to it! I hope you’ll tune in to listen to a little bit of *every artist who played on KALX Live! during 2024*.
90.7 FM / kalx.berkeley.edu

Tune in Saturday, December 28th, from 9PM to Midnight as host Cia Cia La Pirata celebrates the year’s bounty of exciting performances with excerpts from every artist who visited the show in 2024. So many artists, so little time!

09/05/2024

Every year around this time, the 2 cities of Berkeley & Albany work together to transform Solano Avenue into a mile-long walking street for the day. It's called The Solano Avenue Stroll... and it's happening this Sunday 9/8 from 10 to 5. KALX will have a booth there! (We're jazzed!) We hope you'll stroll over and say hello!

Are you going to be at the Solano Avenue Stroll this Sunday, September 8th?
WE ARE! That's right, KALX will be "doing the Stroll" with you, all day from 10 to 5!
Our booth will be just "a few blocks west of the very top" (the Berkeley end).
Come say hi, check out the sweet Prize Wheel, and enter our drawing to win KALX goodies.
Maybe you will win the Grand Prize: a CD boombox with FM radio and Bluetooth!
We're looking forward to seeing you there this Sunday!

07/26/2024

Sometimes you just need to gaze upon a happy-go-lucky little piglet, ya know?
Anyway, I'm going to be hosting the "Why Baby Why" show **tonight at Midnight** on 90.7 fm KALX Berkeley, and online at kalx.berkeley.edu for those of you NOT within the terrestrial listening zone. I wanted to let you know that.
That's this Thursday night... July 25th at Midnight, as your Thursday becomes your Friday.
And now... back to the piglet.

05/06/2024

This Friday May 10, the Freight & Salvage welcomes ✨Kitka✨ in concert. KALX Berkeley 90.7 FM is co-announcing this event... which means you can say hi to friendly station volunteers before the show.
🎟🎟 WIN TICKETS! 🎟🎟
Listen on May 7 during the Sparkle Motion *and* the Charley Varrick shows to get a chance to grab pairs of passes! When they announce it, call 510-642-KALX for the opportunity to win!

KALX Co-Announce: May 10, Kitka at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley. This award-winning Oakland-based vocal arts ensemble is celebrated for its vast, breathtaking repertoire of traditional songs from Eastern Europe. For this show, the group will be singing a special selection of songs as an expression of solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

04/24/2024

Thank you, once again, to each and every one of you who donated during the show! You are officially part of our balanced breakfast… and… you’ve helped to keep 🥓sizzling along for another year! 💚 Big appreciation and gratitude from your volunteerin’ pals, namely me ‘n Last Will aka William Nichols - and all of us at KALX Berkeley - for going to kalx.berkeley.edu/donate and serving a sweet helping of your generosity!!
✨Henri, Andrew, “Batteries”, Sully, George, David, Anonymous Donor, Syd, Carmen, and Charlie!✨

04/24/2024

🌅🌤️Rise and shine! Last Will aka William Nichols is on the air with me from 7-9 am this morning!
🍩🍳🍊We’re having breakfast on the90.7 fm KALX airwaves, with you dear listeners!
Tune in… and if you haven’t done it yet… please donate what you can to your hardworking KALX pals to get us through one more year! kalx.berkeley.edu/donate

04/24/2024

Wednesday April 24 from 7-9am: Join us for an uncharacteristically early morning show (!) on the KALX airwaves. Yes, Last Will (aka William Nichols) and I will be starting the day with a radio-breakfast-hangout in his back yard to celebrate the Final Day of the KALX 2024 Fundraiser! Hope you can listen, and donate if you are able. 90.7 fm / kalx.berkeley.edu